National Basketball Association

Steve Kerr is sick and tired of the Bulls-Warriors comparisons

Published Apr. 4, 2016 3:37 p.m. ET

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As the 69-8 Golden State Warriors creep closer to tying and possibly breaking the '95-'96 Chicago Bulls' record (72) for most wins in the regular season, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has endured a barrage of questions on matter of which team is better.

And who better to answer that question than Kerr himself, who played point guard in all 82 games for that Bulls squad. It really doesn't serve Kerr's main interest -- winning another NBA title -- to dissect the hypothetical, but basketball fans and historians want to know.

The comparisons march on, daily, and so Kerr is resorting to humor to deflect. Here's Kerr's most recent response on who would win a Bulls-Warriors series, via the San Francisco Gate:

“First of all, it’s a really hard question to answer — not just because you’re comparing eras, but also because it’s literally tough for me to answer grammatically. I don’t know who ‘we’ is and who ‘they’ are." I’ll just say: ‘If the two teams played each other, there’s no question that we could beat us and they could beat them.’"

Well that settles that. Let's go back further -- to December 2014 after the eventual 2015 champion Warriors started 21-2. Kerr was asked then if the Warriors could match the Bulls' 72 wins:

"Oh God, no. No! ... We had this guy named Michael Jordan on that team. That year, I think we were 41-3. So if we can go 21-1 the next 22 games, come talk to me."

"What I remember that year is there were about 10 games where Michael just decided, 'We're going to win,'" Kerr said. "And every other team on Earth would have lost those 10 games. And Michael Jordan was ... there'll never be another one. Nobody has ever come close, and I don't think anybody ever will. He wanted to break that Lakers record of 69 wins, so he decided we would do it, so we did it. There's only one Michael."

Asked by ESPN's Ethan Sherwood Strauss in November 2015 if the those Bulls faced these Warriors:

My initial thoughts are that it is literally impossible to even compare, because the rules are so different and the eras are so different. We would overload the strong side on [Michael] Jordan, and they would call illegal defense; and they would put their hands all over [Stephen] Curry, and the refs would call a foul. That make sense?

Pressed further on the subject, allowing any kind of defense and hand-checking, and if the game took place on Pluto, Kerr responded:

I refuse to comment on the score of this hypothetical game that would never happen. Oh, well if it takes place on Pluto, then I believe it would hinge on a step-back Steph Curry 3 over Michael Jordan at the buzzer. And we'll never know if it goes in or not.

On March 5, 2016, Kerr expressed concern over his team getting worn down while chasing the record, adding that “[Breaking the record] would be a huge accomplishment because they are still talking about that Bulls team."

But when asked on Sunday about Scottie Pippen's claim that that the Bulls would sweep the Warriors in a series:

"The game is so different; it really is. I know I keep going back to that.
"Because the game is different and it's officiating differently, it's hard to compare the eras, to compare 20 years ago to now."

At least those Bulls and these Warriors have one thing in common: constant scrutiny:

"It's exactly the same," Kerr said. "Honestly, it was exactly the same. Constant media questioning about the streak."

So, everyone, it's probably time to leave Steve Kerr alone. That won't happen, of course.

And unfortunately Pluto is no longer a planet, so this hypothetical Warriors-Bulls game/series will have to take place on Mars, probably, if Matt Damon or anyone else can make sure that it's habitable.